Although you can do a certain amount online or through learning software from books or tutorials, the best way to master digital editing is by taking an introductory class with a tutor and then practicing, practicing, practicing.

To edit or not to edit? Why you should give it a go.

Sooner or later, everyone that takes photos will want to edit them in one way or another.Below read about the why and hows and get some tips on how to store and categorize your photos on your computer, resize and change file type, as well as find out about some handy websites and software programmes you can use to make the job easier.

Small edits can make big differences.

Here I've used advanced editing software to change the contrast of the photo on the left, then cropped it slightly.I followed the crop with a resize so that both photos are now identical in size .

Opening, closing, saving and backup

You’ve heard it a thousand times – always back up your files!

Well, just do it. The awful realisation that those beautiful photos you took a year ago have somehow been overwritten is something you never want to live through, believe me.

Image files have some special characteristics (see more in ‘File type and conversion’ below) but the important thing to remember is that you need to keep your original safe. Keep them in a separate folder and make a backup copy on CD or DVD to be doubly safe – and the bad new is, you should periodically take those backup files and rewrite them to disk again, as disks don’t last forever, either.

Some file types lose information every time you work on them – jpegs or .jpg files are notorious for this – so it makes sense to keep one master and only edit copies. Make sure you always save edited files to a special folder (perhaps named ‘edits’), not to the original folder. Check that you have saved before closing any edited files and check where they are being saved.

File type and conversion

You will notice that all computer files have extensions – usually they look like this: .doc – a dot followed by three letters, sometimes four. These extensions tell the computer which type of file they are and what programs can be used to open them. When you change a file from one type to another, you can’t just change the extension name, because image files are saved in very different ways. You have to convert the file to the other format.

The most popular filetype for digital photos is .jpeg or .jpg (same format). Unfortunately, this is also the most unstable, or ‘lossy’ type of file – it loses information when you open, edit and close it.

Many photographers prefer to edit their files in .tif format – a less ‘lossy’ type. Professionals tend to shoot in RAW format, edit in .tif and then convert to .jpg or another web-friendly format when uploading images to the web.

Lost you? All you need to know is that if your camera produces .jpg files, for critical shots you should shoot as big a file as your camera can manage – that way, your file will contain the maximum possible information for later editing.

Most simple digital cameras shoot in various file sizes – the most information will be held in ‘Fine’ images. Check to see what resolution and size of image will be produced for each of the setting in your camera. If you're just shooting for the web, you can choose a lower resolution.

Generally speaking, the more expensive a camera, the more shooting options it will have and the larger files it will produce. This doesn’t mean that everybody needs an expensive camera – just that you can’t expect to get professional results from a small point-and-shoot digital.

Cropping and resizing - resolution explained

You will often see resolution mentioned when people request images for various things – I have asked for the images for a competition to be in 72 ppi resolution. This means that the information stored in your photograph will be stored in tiny squares (pixels - picture elements) at the rate of 72 pixels per inch. This is a very low resolution – images will not be able to be made larger and printed successfully, but they will upload quickly and look good on the web. Files can be high or low resolution, and also be large or small in pixel dimensions - the size they will print at. Both these things need to be taken into account when resizing.

Resizing software comes in all flavours – cheap and nasty through to complex and expensive. These days there are some wonderful low-price and even free software options available; most of them can resize, crop, shrink, correct faults, save in a different filetype and generally do wonderful things. Some freeware programmes only offer some features – to get the full version you have to buy the ‘professional’ version, which may not necessarily be all that professional! See the end of the article for some links and comments on the various options.

Unless you have a very good editing solution, don’t try making your low resolution images bigger. The results are usually less than perfect. You can, however, make your images smaller very successfully by either shrinking the whole photo or by cropping to make a smaller image. I was trained on film so I usually crop in-camera, which I still find the best solution. The main drawback of cropping with software is that it's difficult to maintain the same proportions overall so your photos are all the same size. Once you have cropped, you will usually have to resize as well - another very good reason to start out with a big file. Most advanced software has excellent ways of handling this.

Correcting faults

The list of things that can go wrong is not quite as long as that of the various software solutions to these pesky problems. Underexposure, overexposure, flat or hard contrast, fuzziness; they can all be helped somewhat by careful editing. Of course, the best solution is to get it right when you shoot, but most images can benefit from a little bit of tweaking.

Digital trickery can be used to change an image quite radically. Don’t go overboard with filters and special effects, though, as this can be quite disconcerting. The image on the left was developed specifically to be an unreal and theatrical version of the famous Twelve Apostles in Victoria, mainly because I arrived there at a most unfavourable time for good photography, so I just took the images and ran with them. I like it, but it is heavily edited and would definitely not be many people's cup of tea.

As you can see below, dramatic changes can be made using just a few simple edits. Both these images were edited using Adobe Photoshop, the gold standard of photo editing, but similar results can be obtained using Adobe Photoshop Elements, which costs around $200.

Image before editing

This image was unusable before editing >

I particularly wanted to use this image on the site because it's the only one I have of the girls wearing the two hats I've provided instructions for. After a lot of work, I had this useable enhanced version.

Most important: virus protection!

If you are going to be working online at all, or downloading files, you need robust virus protection software. Don't let your subscriptions run out and go on without it - it's certain that you will get a virus eventually, and the hassle just isn't worth it.

Useful software links and information

The GimpThis free (open access) photo editor is comparable in power to Adobe Photoshop, but not as easy to learn as the documentation is not as easy to follow. A more 'tecchie' solution, it has a wide following and if you have an up-and-coming photographer in the family, or you have excellent computer skills, you might consider learning how to use the GIMP.http://www.gimp.org/downloads/ Primarily designed for Mac, GIMP can also be downloaded for Windows.Image format converter: convert files to other formats - upgradeable to a professional version.http://www.avs4you.com/AVS-Image-Converter.aspx

Software you can buyAdobe Photoshop Elements 9: Powerful image editing software. Fine for the everyday user, not so good for professional users. http://www.ascent.co.nz type “photoshop elements’ into the search box. Around $200 to purchase.

Adobe Photoshop A professional solution with a professional price tag. the industry standard, full of high-grade features. Only buy this if you are prepared to put a good deal of effort into learning how to use it, and you intend to use it a lot. Photoshop Elements is a better solution for non-professional users, both for its simplicity and its price tag. Students can buy a cheaper version - this is the same programme without any user manuals.

Online photo editing solution

PiknikAn easy-to-use free online photo editor, which you can upgrade to a professional version.http://www.picnik.com/